ACTIVELY PROMOTING THE VIET NAM – CANADA COMPREHENSIVE PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE, STABILITY, FRIENDSHIP, COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE REGION AND THE WORLD
Pham Binh Minh
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
This year, Viet Nam and Canada celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations. This is a significant milestone in our bilateral relations. It is also an opportunity for us to reflect on the journey that we have embraced together and to confidently look forward to the future. The past 45 years have shown that strengthening the Viet Nam – Canada friendship and cooperation not only brings about concrete benefits to both peoples but also contributes to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
Although Canada is half the world away from Viet Nam, the close bonds shared between our peoples have been flourishing for a long time. Canada twice participated in the International Commission on Control and Supervision in Viet Nam in 1954 and 1973. Late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was a supporter of the anti-war movement in Viet Nam. It was also him who made the decision to establish diplomatic relations with Viet Nam in 1973.
To date, Canada has undertaken strong efforts to work alongside and support Viet Nam with national reconstruction and development, particularly since the early years of Reform (Doi Moi). Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), has rolled out many cooperation and assistance programs worth millions of US dollars and provided thousands of scholarships for Vietnamese students since the early 1990s. Many regions and localities in Viet Nam have received valuable support from Canada within the framework of financial and technical assistance projects related to agriculture, rural development and climate change adaption. In particular, Canada development assistance has played a significant role in promoting reform of the economic institutions and raising Viet Nam’s capacity for international integration.
Building on this solid foundation, the friendship and cooperation between Viet Nam and Canada throughout the past 45 years have been constantly reinforced, marked by the exchange of high-level visits. Those include the visit to Viet Nam by former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien to inaugurate the Embassy of Canada in Ha Noi in 1994, the visit to Canada by former Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai in 2005, when the two countries established the framework for “comprehensive, stable and sustainable cooperation”, and the first historic visit by Canadian Governor General David Johnston to Viet Nam in November 2011. In recent years, the Viet Nam – Canada friendship and cooperation continue to be elevated to new heights with the visit by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in November 2017 when leaders of the two countries inked the Comprehensive Partnership, and the visit to Canada by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on the occasion of attending the G7 Outreach Summit last June.
Given the strong determination of both countries’ leaders and peoples, the Viet Nam – Canada bilateral relations have been deepened in multiple areas. Regarding politics – diplomacy, in addition to more frequent exchange of high-level delegations, both sides have maintained regular contact on the sidelines of summits, multilateral, international and regional forums. In addition to diplomacy, our party-to-party and parliament-to-parliament cooperation as well as people-to-people exchanges and localities’ collaboration have been increasingly robust and substantive.
Economic, investment and development cooperation (ODA) continue to be the highlight of our relations. Since 2015 Viet Nam has risen to the number one position among Canada’s trading partners in ASEAN. Our bilateral trade turnover has been expanding annually by 20-25% and amounted to nearly US$ 5 billion in 2017. With 149 projects worth up to US$ 4.1 billion, Canada ranks 14th out of 112 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam. Since 1990, Canada has always been one of the leading countries in terms of development assistance to Viet Nam with the total ODA to date amounting to CAD 800 million.
On education and training, Viet Nam is the leading Southeast Asian country in terms of the number of students studying in Canada, with 14 thousand in 2018 (up by almost 50% compared to 2017). People-to-people and youth exchanges have become an important foundation for the sustainable development of our bilateral relations.
To date, the Vietnamese community of over 250,000 people in Canada has made significant contribution to the socio-economic development and cultural diversification of the beautiful Canada. Vietnamese culinary quintessence has become popular in the daily life of many Canadians.
Defense cooperation has also seen progresses. The signing of the MoU on Military Training Cooperation Program (MTCP) during the visit to Viet Nam by Canadian Minister of National Defense in June 2018 as well as the positive cooperation between both sides within the framework of the UN peacekeeping operations have been conducive to the maintenance of peace, stability and security in the region and the world.
On multilateral cooperation, the two sides have worked closely during the APEC Viet Nam 2017 as well as at the United Nations, the Francophonie, the ARF and ASEAN Plus, among other frameworks. Viet Nam has always been a strong supporter and contributor to the partnership between ASEAN and Canada. At the above mentioned forums, Viet Nam and Canada share strategic visions on key issues including trade and investment liberalization, promotion of multilateralism, maintenance of peace, stability and a rule-based world order.
Over the past 45 years, even though much water has flown under the bridge, the Viet Nam – Canada relations have been as firms as a train that always moves forward. Canada is a G7 member, and Viet Nam is a rising and dynamic economy. There is much untapped potential to further enhance the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries, particularly in development cooperation areas. In addition to the leaders’ commitment, it is crucial that businesses and people from both countries actively explore new opportunities for cooperation. The participation of both countries in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) promises stronger and more comprehensive relations, particularly in economic, trade, investment, and development cooperation.
Following the important high-level visits, the meaningful and substantive activities to celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2018 will contribute to furthering the Viet Nam – Canada Comprehensive Partnership in line with the interests and aspirations of both peoples and for an Asia-Pacific of peace, stability, cooperation and development./.